A conferencing system allows two or more conference participants to conduct conferences by two-way or multi-way video and/or audio transmissions using electronic devices capable of performing multimedia communications. The conferencing system communicates with devices provisioned with video and/or audio conferencing capabilities through a network, such as an integrated services digital network (ISDN) or an Internet Protocol (IP) network. A conferencing system provides a graphical user interface to the electronic devices that represent the participants and activity in the conference. In present systems, the graphical user interfaces provide little indication of which conference participant is contributing to the conference and the quality of those contributions. Moreover, existing systems provide no incentive to stimulate participation in the conference.